AYACUCHO, Peru (AP) — Authorities have unearthed the bullet-ridden remains of 15 peasants murdered by soldiers after the lone survivor of the massacre came forward following two decades of silence, officials said Saturday.
The witness led a prosecutor and a forensic team to the bodies last month near the village of Totos, 200 miles southeast of the capital, Lima, chief forensic investigator Luis Castillejo told The Associated Press.
He said the survivor, whose identity was withheld, told authorities he was one of 16 people brought to a nearby military post on May 28, 1983, for questioning amid reports that Maoist Shining Path rebels were in the area.
The group was returning to Totos when they were seized by soldiers.
The witness escaped and watched from a hiding place as his companions were forced to dig their own graves before being gunned down, said Castillejo. He said the witness kept quiet for 21 years, fearing reprisals if he talked.
The bodies showed signs of torture before death.
"There were fractures on various parts of the bodies and they had their wrists bound with rope," Castillejo said. "Hoods were found in the graves. Presumably some were hooded before being murdered. Also, bullet casings from automatic rifles were found and bullet fragments impregnated their clothing."
Last year, a government-appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported that nearly 70,000 people were killed between 1980 and 2000, caught in the cross fire of rebels and military forces sent to crush the insurgency.
Although the nine-volume report, delivered to the government last August, blamed the guerrillas for the majority of the deaths, it also cited widespread abuses by security forces.
The Shining Path launched a violent campaign of car bombings, political assassinations and massacres in 1980. The group's activity fell off sharply with the 1992 capture of its founder, Abimael Guzman.
The remaining rebels now provide protection for drug traffickers in jungle regions where coca — the main ingredient in cocaine — is grown.